1606452 (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant seeking to satisfy the primary criteria for a Subclass 485 visa in the Post-Study Work stream. The applicant held a Bachelor of Commerce awarded by Griffith University, which is a qualification specified by the Minister for the purposes of the visa. However, the award was partly based on credit transfers from a Diploma of Commerce and an Associate Degree in Commerce and Business.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant's Bachelor of Commerce degree qualified him for the visa, given that part of his study was undertaken at Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) level 6 (Associate Degree) rather than solely at AQF level 7 or higher, as required by the relevant instrument. The instrument specified that the qualifications must be "the result of study undertaken at Australian Qualifications Framework level seven or higher."

The Tribunal reasoned that the phrase "the result of study undertaken at Australian Qualifications Framework level seven or higher" was intended to have operative effect and was not merely a formality. It concluded that the applicant's Bachelor of Commerce degree was not entirely the result of study at AQF level 7 or higher, as it incorporated study at AQF level 6. Therefore, the applicant did not meet the requirements of clause 485.231(1) of Schedule 2 to the Regulations. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant the visa.